Tuesday, 18 October 2016

New motor sales highest on record

Rev-heads

The ABS Sale of New Motor Vehicles figures showed new vehicle sales rising to their highest ever level with a massive 100,640 units shifted in September 2016, for a 2.5 per cent month-on-month increase.

If you want a good reason to own property near public transport links or with a good 'walk score', this chart is probably it.

Total new motor vehicle sales over the year have soared to a record high 1,179,652.

Daring to be 'different'

The boom has entirely been driven by Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) sales, with another crunching +3.5 per cent increase in the month and 438,362 units shifted in the past 12 months, while sales of 'other' new vehicle types are also rising hard.

Conversely, annual sales of new passenger vehicles (492,257) are now at their lowest level in nearly two decades.

Increases were recorded across the board in every state and territory in September.

But looking around the traps at the rolling annual number of sales shows that the gains have been driven by New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, with annual units sold at record highs in each of these states.

Imports to rise

The flip side to this is that Australian production of vehicles is falling and will continue to fall. Thus, we have record high new vehicle sales that must be imported.

The Ford factory in Geelong in Victoria had been operating since 1925 but assembled Australia's last home-made Falcon in the last week of September, with the Broadmeadows plant finally being shuttered in the past fortnight.

As at the final day of production there were reportedly 200 staff remaining on the payroll.